AccuraPannier Update - How The Best Has Become Even Better

Warbonnet · 2025-02-05T13:06:20Z

Building on the success of our 78xx Manors, which of course was our first steam locomotive, we announced our large family of 57xx/67xx and 8750 range of the GWR/BR Pannier tanks to great fanfare at the final Warley show in late 2023.

Since then we have moved swiftly from tooling samples to painted samples as we showed off in the Autumn, including our lovely pair of officially licenced Accurascale Exclusive pair of London Transport panniers.

It was not until we put some colour on our panniers that it was noted that a couple of details were not quite right. These were identified and discussed at length on our thread on RMWeb, where several experts provided assistance to help us with a couple of detail corrections. Our original samples were black, which is the one colour we dislike having samples in, as it can "hide" some errors, making them more difficult to spot. The splash of colour of LT maroon and GWR green helped bring these to the fore.

It was noted that the straps on the smokebox door were too close together and that the dome was slightly angled and not vertical at the sides. We discussed the latter with the factory, and it was confirmed that this was to assist with mould release, a part of the manufacturing process to help the part release from the injection moulding machine correctly. Many, many steam models have a very, very gentle slope, almost unrecognisable to the eye to assist in this process.

However, if it was noticeable in our photos published of these samples then we felt it stuck out too much. So, we went back to the factory and after some head scratching and brain storming, they came up with a fantastic solution to active a perfectly vertical angle so the dome could be replicated correctly on our model.

We have since received a sample showcasing these improvements and we are blown away with the subtle but definitive difference it has made as can be seen above (all the other images in this blog feature samples with the incorrect details).

It can always be easy for manufacturers to "blame" the factory for anything that goes wrong. Of course, they can make mistakes like us all, and they're only human too, but their expertise, knowledge, talent and engineering skills are unbelievable and when they can come up with solutions like above they should be duly commended for their efforts.

Naturally, the tooling changes left us with a dilemma that we often face. Do we ignore, plough on, and deliver on time? Or, do we take the time to correct it and add in a slight delay to delivery?

These delays can be frustrating for customers, and have massive financial implications for manufacturers as it means waiting even longer to recoup your return on investment. And this investment is huge, indeed without much change from half a million quid. You can see why some models proceed without errors being corrected as a result.

However, detail issues and mistakes can be even more frustrating for modellers, and we know our customers would rather the best pannier they can have, rather than the quickest. After all, it will be in your collection and in service on your layout for many years to come, you want it to be right. Right?

We would find them frustrating too. So, we bit the bullet and made the corrections.

So, what does this mean for the timeline, as they're supposed to be arriving in Q1 2025 which is between now and the end of March. Well, they will now arrive in late Q2, which is looking at late June of 2025. We apologise for this delay, but we hope the above offers some clarity.

Our exquisite panniers will be a wonderful model when they land on your layout, and at just £139.95 DC/DCC ready and £239.99 DCC sound fitted they also offer exceptional value for money in todays market. Pre-order via your local stockist, or direct below!